1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to television systems.
2. Description of the Related Art
Televisions and computers have become ubiquitous, and since both usually entail a visual display, efforts have been made to integrate both functions into a single system. In this way, a consumer need not purchase and operate two separate systems, which can burden some consumers who, while familiar with operating a television and its remote control, might not be familiar with operating, e.g., an Internet computer.
To the extent that attempts have been made to combine television with Internet features, it has generally been with the focus of producing what might be thought of as a “lean forward” system. That is, hybrid TV/computers have typically been more oriented toward productivity, generally thought of as a computer system characteristic, and less toward entertainment (“lean back”), generally regarded as a television system characteristic. It is not just the dichotomy between productivity and entertainment that distinguishes a “lean forward” experience from a “lean back” experience, however. As contemplated herein, “lean back” activities can extend to purchasing products that are advertised on TV, as opposed to, e.g., making products for sale. In any case, with the above-mentioned critical observation of the present invention in mind, it can readily be appreciated that the differences between a system designed for “lean forward” experiences and a system designed for “lean back” experiences can be both subtle and profound.
In the above context, the present invention recognizes that in one aspect of a lean-back experience, a viewer might be interested in obtaining further programming that is related to something the viewer found interesting in, for instance, a DVD program that the viewer displays on the TV. For example, a viewer might be interested in viewing additional programs that star an actor featured on a DVD movie. Conventionally, the viewer would have to manually browse for such programming, or for related products, which can be cumbersome and time-consuming and which might be done after the viewer's interest has waned. The present invention critically observes that it would be advantageous to provide a TV viewer with a means to obtain recommended programming/products based on a viewer selection of DVD content in a manner that is more convenient than is currently afforded.